Femplex - A woman's best friend. A herbal complex to support hormone balance and especially in Menopause. It contains estrogen balancers such as DIM, Paeony, Red Clover and Chaste Tree. These estrogen balancers help to restore the balance between progesterone and estrogen, through healthy estrogen metabolism via the liver. It also contains Resveratrol, a well known antioxidant. Ideal for those with hormonal related night sweats.
Estrogen Dominance
Having the incorrect level of estrogen has often being blamed for women's health problems, but is not so much the level of estrogen, but the balance between estrogen and other hormones such as progesterone and testosterone. An imbalance resulting in a higher than normal ratio of estrogen to the other hormones is termed "Estrogen Dominance". Estrogen dominance is often blamed for many symptoms and conditions some of which include:
- PMS and irregular periods
- Uterine fibroids
- Recurring breast pain
- Weight Gain
Estrogen dominance can be caused by many reasons such as:
- Normal flow of estrogen progesterone during the menstrual cycle
- Ageing - pre-menopause and menopause, when levels of hormone production decrease and production of progesterone production reduces more than that of estrogen.
- Stress
- Obesity
- Intake of hormones from Oral contraceptives and HRT
- Intake of environmental estrogens
- Malfunctioning of various organs
But isnt having good levels of Estrogen essential for women?
Many of the benefits that are attributed to estrogen, which includes its ability to protect the heart and brain with its antioxidant activity, are now known to come from the "good" metabolites. The ultimate biological effect of estrogen depends on how much is available (free or unbound estrogen) for metabolisation and how it is metabolised.
Healthy estrogen metabolism can benefit both women and men, young and old, and is crucial for many health aspects, including breast, uterine, cervical, and prostate health.
Modulation of estrogen metabolism can be accomplished through dietary changes and nutrient supplementation.
What herbs are in Femplex?
The ingredients in this formula are:
DIM. DIM ( Di-Indole Methane) is a naturally occurring phytonutrient that is found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and brussel sprouts. As some people may not like the taste of them, or choose not to eat them because of the formation of gas or bloating, it may be necessary to take a supplement to ensure we get this valuable nutrient in our bodies.
Research has shown that DIM has the ability to act as an estrogen balancer in both women and men. As well as this, there is preliminary evidence that shows the ingestion of DIM can inhibit the growth of mammary tumors in animal models and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in human breast cancer cells in vitro.
Paeony root: Paeony, along with Vitex agnus castus are both thought to work on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, to regulate ovulation and therefore progesterone production. They are found in many herbal formulations for gynaecological complaints. They have a similar structure to the steroid hormones. They are primarily indicated to improve levels of progesterone relative to estrogen.
Red Clover: Studies have shown that the isoflavones in Red Clover offer real relief to post menopausal women. The isoflavones were also found to be effective in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms.
Tomato Fruit: Tomatoes are the major dietary source of the carotenoid lycopene. Evidence suggests that increased dietary intake of lycopene is associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer in premenopausal women.
Vitex agnus castus or Chaste Tree: This is known to decrease some symptoms of PMS, especially breast pain or tenderness, edema, constipation, irritability, depressed mood or mood alterations and headache in some women. The active constituents of Chaste Tree are the essential oils, flavonoids and essential fatty acids. The therapeutic effects have primarily been attributed to its indirect effects on various neurotransmitters and hormones. Other preliminary research suggests that chaste tree might inhibit the growth of breast and other cancer cells.
Japanese Knotweed: This herb contains several active constituents and is considered to be one of the richest sources of trans-resveratrol, a well known and well researched antioxidant. The emodin constituent and other polyphenols such as resveratrol seem to have anti-mutagenic effects and anti - angiogenesis activity.
All of these herbs can be found in the New Zealand formulated and made product Xcel Health Femplex.
As with all herbal products that have an effect via the liver, it is always best to start with a reduced dose and work up slowly to the recommended dosage. If you know your liver function is poor, start slow and work up slowly.
Many people start by opening 1 Capsule (by holding the 2 ends and gently twisting in opposite directions, while very gently pulling the 2 ends apart) and tip only 1/4 - 1/3 of the contents onto a mouthful of something (yoghurt or something of a similar consistency is good). Keep the rest of the Capsule for the following nights. Start with 1/4 of a Capsule for 4 nights in a row, then increase to 1/2 a Capsule for two nights, then 1 whole Capsule. Take 1 Capsule for one week then increase to 2 Capsules.
With all hormonal balancing products, we suggest a woman starts this of Day 1 of her period (the 1st day of true bleeding) Take continuously throughout the month and do not skip a day. Take while you have your period too.
